E/CN.4/1997/7 page 42 Sudan 185. By letter dated 13 September 1996 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information indicating that the use of torture in the Sudan remained widespread. Although in March 1995 the secret detention centre known as “City Bank” or “the Oasis” ( al-Waha ) was reportedly closed and its detainees transferred to a section of Khober prison to be administered by the security authorities, many other secret detention centres were said to continue to operate throughout the country. Under new legislation promulgated in 1994 and amended in 1995, to replace the 1990 National Security Act, persons reportedly could be detained, without notice of the reasons for detention, for three months by order of the National Security Council or “its authorized representative” approved by a magistrate. The three-month detention could be renewed once without magisterial approval and further periods of removal were allowed with the approval of a “competent judge”. Detainees reportedly did not have the right to challenge judicially the legality of their detention. During these periods of pre-trial detention, persons were said to be held frequently incommunicado, a condition which leaves them vulnerable to torture. 186. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 25 individual cases and nine urgent appeals on behalf of 66 persons. Six appeals were joined by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, two were joined by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and two were joined by the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Government replied to 1 of the appeals concerning 7 persons and to 14 cases transmitted in previous years. Observations 187. In the light of the information he has received, the Special Rapporteur considers that the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan in his 1996 report to the Commission remains applicable: “torture at the hands of armed and security forces, as well as inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, has been a routine practice over the last few years” (E/CN.4/1996/62, para. 96(c)). Sweden 188. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of one person. Switzerland 189. The Special Rapporteur transmitted three newly reported cases. In addition to that he sent one urgent appeal, in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, on behalf of one person. A reply from the Government was received too late for inclusion in the addendum to the report.